INMATE STILL WON'T TALK ABOUT MISSING WOMAN

A 34-year-old Utah State Prison inmate continues to refuse to answer any questions about the 1988 disappearance of a Utah County woman.

During a parole hearing, members of the Utah Board of Pardons got nowhere with Michael I. Kufrin on the subject of Peggy Ellsworth Case. Case, 28, was last seen alive in Kufrin's company, authorities say."I don't want to talk about it," Kufrin replied to repeated queries from board members.

Police have identified Kufrin as the prime suspect in the disappearance. Meantime, Kufrin is serving a zero-to-five-year prison term for the unrelated crime of attempted theft.

Several members of Case's family attended Kufrin's parole hearing, but they were not allowed to address the board because the disappearance had nothing to do with Kufrin's prison term.

Following the July 9, 1988, party where Kufrin and Case were last seen together, Kufrin called her work place and reported her ill.

The next day, he told her employers she had gone out of town to buy a car, detectives said. Police were contacted soon after by fellow employees worried about Case.

Police questioned Kufrin repeatedly, saying they were given several stories about Case's whereabouts. For a time, Kufrin claimed the woman was staying in contact with him by phone, but he later declined to discuss the case any further with police.

Case's family members said Kufrin stayed at their daughter's apartment three months after her disappearance. On Oct. 5, Kufrin stole an employer's truck and some firearms and left the state. He was apprehended in Nevada three months later.

Kufrin was charged with three second-degree felonies but eventually pleaded guilty to one third-degree count and was placed on probation. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss all charges if Kufrin would produce evidence that Case was still alive.

Parole board member Michael Sibbett said Friday that Kufrin was imprisoned after he violated his probation twice by leaving Utah and returning to his home state of Illinois.